This Changes Everything
by OffTopic.Writer
Summary: "Fishlegs!" Hiccup exclaimed, grabbing the book. "I found something." His friend walks over to peer over his head. "What is it?" Fishlegs asks. "It's a book," Hiccup breathed. "It's a book of dragons." They both look at each other. "Do you know what this means?" Hiccup asks, but Fishlegs already knows the answer. "This Changes Everything." [STORY CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE]
1. The Message

**My first HTTYD fanfiction, been catching up on the canon and books. Forgive if I have errors, I'm only 15 after all and ready to get a permit. High school is always fun, too. (Warning: This is a Modern AU; don't like, don't read.) I am already typing two other fanfics, trying to test myself on how many I can do at a time before being overworked. Since this the Prologue, it's not going to be too long, but the other chapters will be around 3k words.**

"Fishlegs," Hiccup Haddock spoke, looking to his long time friend. He looked at the big figure next to him, who was reading the Book of Dragons. "Did they follow him?"

"Yes, friend," Fishlegs Ingerman answered, his eyes leaving the texts and meeting Hiccup's friendly gaze. "They are heading north, every single one of them."

"I'm sure Toothless and the others are going to take care of them," Hiccup spoke, looking at his hand; his wrinkly, old hand. Getting up from his seat, he looked out the window of his house. The sky was bright blue with the sun's rays cleansing over the land. The birds chirped and the grass blew with the direction of the wind. The skinny viking then looked at the mirror he made. "Life went fast, Fishlegs." Hiccup had grey, almost white hair on his head and face. He also had the cape of the chief that was made just like his father. He then remembered the dark event, but shook it away.

"It sure did, Hiccup," Fishlegs replied, scratching his chin. "I can't believe we have grandkids now. I didn't think I would ever get to the age of seeing them."

"Me neither," Hiccup agreed. "After all we've been through: The Red Death, Alvin, Dagur, The Screaming Death, Viggo, Drago. It feels like the list goes on."

"Well, it stopped years ago," Fishlegs insured his friend. "Our adventurous lives have passed. Now it's time to live in peace and harmony."

"I could never agree more," Hiccup admitted. "I can't believe that the dragons are gone now. All of our adventures with them, it seemed like it was yesterday."

"Who doesn't Hiccup," Fishlegs spoke in his broad voice, getting up to be with his good friend. Placing one of his large hands on Hiccup's skinny build, Fishlegs solemnly looked into the mirror. "But you made the right call: sending them away was the best choice for all of humanity. The dragons will no longer be hunted, enslaved, killed . . . or trained, which I hate to say. Many species of dragons haven't been discovered, but it's a good thing."

The door to Hiccup's house was opened, and the two partners looked up to see Astrid standing there. Her silver hair was braided like when she was a teenager. Her azure eyes looked at the two friends with curiosity, but that wasn't on her mind.

"Hiccup," she spoke softly. "The tribe is ready to hear the next course of dragon."

"Right," Hiccup replied, his voice scratchy from old age. "Toothless . . . " He tried to call his best four-legged friend, but remembered where he had gone. Hiccup closed his eyes to prevent tears, but no avail. They streamed down his face, and he felt Astrid wrap her arms around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, but he's gone," Astrid spoke. "Just like Stormfly and the others."

"I know," Hiccup said, but somehow he couldn't believe they were gone. He then thought of something. "Tell the tribe to wait for me, I got one last thing to do." Fishlegs and Astrid didn't ask, but Astrid placed a kissed on his cheek, giving him a smile before leaving, closing the door behind them.

He looked in the mirror for a few more moments, then went to table, grabbing a charcoal pen and paper in the process. Taking his seat at the table, he then began writing. His hand was shaking as the thought of his moments with Toothless. He thought of the battles they fought, the dragons they trained, the enemies they defeated, and the people the saved. He sighed, trying to control his emotions as he wrote.

 _Dear Descendants,_

 _There is a world you might not know of in the decades, or centuries, but it was an amazing one. In my lifetime, I have seen creatures that are magnificent in the sky, graceful on the land, dangerous in battle, and adoring to their allies. They were my best friends, and my entire life. I spent my time dedicated to them as a teenager before taking the responsibilities of the tribes on which my father passed down to me. Even then, I still spent time studying, caring, and training them._

 _I am talking about dragons that roamed the skies, earth, and sea. Their history goes back to ours and how we fought them, unfortunately. They were formidable opponents to humans, including the dragons that controlled them against their will, thus making our life living hell. It seemed like they were going to doom us, until I met one. He was the rarest of all dragons, and the only one I've seen in my life. His scales were as black as night, making him deadlier than most dragons. His speed was amazing, being able to avoid projectiles. His weapon was the most dangerous of all, the plasma blast. He was the offspring of lightning and death himself, and I named him Toothless and he was a Night Fury._

 _After I shot him down, which I thought was a good idea at the time, I began to understand that there was more than killing in the dragon's mind. He showed me that there was more to a dragon than just a enemy to us, but they could also be helpers, fellow soldiers, and our protectors. They helped us fight many battles against the evils of the archipelago._

 _Of course, I began training him the week after I found him the cove, which was a temporary home to him and safe haven. That was the time when vikings killed dragons and mounted them on the walls as trophies. That to me, felt like a horrifying yesterday even though it was some sixty plus years ago. I began unlocked mysteries no viking had ever known before, and I used them to help me train other species of dragon. Soon, most dragons began to like me, even though my own race was a threat to theirs._

 _It was only a few months later when my father found out and used my Night Fury friend as a guide to eliminate the dragon's nest. Except, there was one problem, and that was a dragon the size of the mountain lived in the volcano. We lost many vikings that day, but in the end, dragons became our best friends. That was also that my lifetime crush really kissed me._

Hiccup chuckled at that last sentence, but continued to write on.

 _Soon, our lives were infinitely better with the dragons; they helped us with daily tasks and in exchange, we provided a place for them to live. We began to train the dragons my friends chose as their partners in adventure._

 _Since Toothless lost his tail fin when I shot him down and I lost my leg, we became pals, but we also depended on one another. When we flew together, it was as if Odin chose us for each other. Toothless and I were unstoppable, well, most of the time anyways._

 _My girlfriend, now wife, Astrid chose a Deadly Nadder whom she called Stormfly. The trained in the art of fighting together. It was hard not to separate them, especially when they created a bond over violence and fighting technique. She was a Valkyrie when she rode Stormfly; it was a true sight to see any day of the year._

 _Snotlout, my muscular cousin, chose Hookfang, which was one of the deadliest dragons known to us. Able to light his scales on fire when commanded, they instantly had a lot of things in common. For one, they both had a short tempers when they were insulted; and second was that they showed no respect for each other until it was life or death._

 _Fishlegs, my lifelong friend, had picked a Gronckle, which ate rocks and only rocks. They both had the instinct of fear whenever something scary and impossible came their way, but they still remained loyal to the gang and I. The one thing about him, though, was that you would pay the price if you hurt a dragon, especially baby ones._

 _Tuffnut and Ruffnut were considered the annoying ones, but they solved your problems without realizing it. They bonded with a Zippleback, which had two heads, and that was nice since they were twins. They usually blew stuff up when they were bored, and if not that, they usually disobeyed the most strict order._

 _Ever since we became a group, we had become the adventurous teenagers of Berk, my home island, but we were also the protectors from certain dragons and evil people like Alvin, Dagur, Viggo, Ryker, and Drago. We have been the first to see the most interesting species of dragons. They revealed to us the most fascinating things they could do, and I would never forget it. Strengths and weaknesses of these dragons helped get through the hard times._

 _We founded "The Edge" which was our outpost to study the dragons beyond the archipelago, and boy was it an adventure. We found dragons we thought never existed, and they showed how much they liked us, too._

 _Ever since then, we faced the path of our tribe's destruction more than once, but we prevailed, even after losing my father who was one of the best known chiefs to my people. I was so afraid that I would be like him, and that the tribe would be the only thing in my future. That wasn't the case though, and I was still able to deal with dragons and their species. They are actually very good companions. The most incredible part of my life was that Toothless found another Night Fury to be mates with, and that memory will never be removed from my brain._

 _This concludes the letter I have written to my descendants, and I hope you will be able to experience what I have experienced very soon. This is where I will tell you the location of the dragons, and the nest of the Alpha, the leader of all the dragons._

 _There are three challenges that you will pass that will be with this letter._

 _This is how the dragons come to earth to live in harmony with humans, but there needs to be a leader next to the Alpha so the humans keep the promise for the safety of all dragons, even if they are dangerous._

 _This letter will pass down to you, my descendant, and you will have the chance to fulfill something, The Original Dragon Trainer, Hiccup Haddock the III, will not be able to do._

 _May the Gods be with you,_

 _Hiccup Haddock the III, Chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe._

Hiccup set down the charcoal pencil and looked at the letter, reading over it. He couldn't help but to see tears come down his eyes as he remembered the good times with his father, friends, his love, and his dragon friend, Toothless the Night Fury.

"Don't worry bud, the humans and dragons will live together once again, when the time is right," Hiccup spoke to himself, closing his eyes to see his friends cat like eyes gaze at him. "And our descendants will reunite with each other once more."


	2. The Paper

**Hello, my name is Zmike. I will not be able to update as much, but this is chapter was made 4 hours ago if you are reading this.**

 **Author's Note: Things get adventurous.**

The morning was cloudly on Long Island, but Henry Haddock wasn't surprised. His alarmed beeped loudly as he was woken up from his graceful dream involving a special someone. The teen groaned in frustration, slamming down on the off button of the boxy device, causing the beeping to stop. Yawning, he blinked his eyes rapidly so they could adjust to the bright enviroment. Henry then ran one of his hands through his shaggy hair, feelings the softnesss of it.

Henry then looked around his room, noticing that it was messy with all the books and pieces of sketching paper covering the floor. _Oh great,_ he thought as he sat there, pondering what today was going to be like

"What am I thinking? It's another friday in high school," Hiccup muttered, taking his covers off. That's when he heard a thud, and he looked down to see what it was. It was his book that taught how to read and speak Norse, which was the only reminder of his mother. Sighing, he picked up the book and put it next to his backpack.

Henry missed his mother, Valka, who was part of the six scientists who disappeared in the north artic circle seven years ago. It still gave him nightmares: his mother screaming to get back to him as he stood there just out of distance of helping her. Those dreams were the ones that would horrify him. Henry felt a tear run down his cheek, and he wiped it off. _I'll be strong for you, mom. I promise._

He then grabbed his phone off one of his stands and texted a familiar contact. Typing fast on the keyboard screen, he got his message to his friend in a matter of seconds.

 ** _Just woke up, be ready in ten._**

Henry set the phone back down on the stand and began undressing, trying to find what outfit to where for the last day of his freshman year. Henry was quite a old freshman at that, being sixteen and still having no car to drive for his own purposes.

"Kind of ridiculous, considering dad is the governor for New York, _and_ the CEO of ' _Catapult Shipping'_ , " Henry said to himself quitely. It was true, a man with millions of dollars still couldn't trust his own son with driving a car. Even worse, Henry didn't even have a driver's license. "It's all because what I look like from the outside, isn't it?" he asked himself in the front of mirror, shirtless and tired. "No wonder everyone calls me a Hiccup."

It was true, Henry's brain-dead cousin in freshman year decided to introduce me to everyone as Hiccup. It was tradition in the Norse culture to call the runt of the litter a Hiccup, and Henry just shook his head at the thought. He knew something like this was inevitable, Henry knew that his cousin wasn't entire wrong at what he said. He had a skinny build with arms that were almost the size of toothpicks. He was also not very strong, but that was balanced by the amount of brains he had. It helped when he worked in _The Forge_ , Gobber's car repair shop.

A ding then came from his phone, and Hiccup turned around, walking over to see his friend's text. He leaned over to see what it said.

 ** _Alright, I'll be getting our sources written, Fishlegs out._**

Hiccup just chuckled to himself when he saw that name. _I can't believe he stills uses it._

Fletcher Ingerman was Hiccup's best friend, but he was soon nicknamed to Fishlegs after everyone in the Long Island Academy saw his body build: a big torso with small legs. He had the potential of being one of the most feared students in high school, but his personality was the opposite of fearing. He also had a small, fluffly patch of blond hair on his head, but was usually covered up by the hat he usually wore.

He is also a massive book worm, knowing more stuff in fifth grade than Henry has ever known in entire life. If Henry gave him three books to read, Fletcher could finish them all in one night, and recite the key information. All in all, Fletcher was ready to learn anything new, absorbing all the information he got. **(I got a friend like that; never studies for tests but gets A's all day. I'll never understand it)**

Henry then went back to getting dressed, picking a pair of denim jeans and a red and black diagonal striped shirt. Quickly getting the clothes on, he grabbed his the book of Norse language and his backpack. He opened his bedroom door and flew down the stairs, making his way to the kitchen. After a few moments in the room, he noticed the bulky frame of his father in front of him.

"Hello son, what brings you up this fine morning?" Stoic the Vast asked his son. Henry responded with a shrug, then took a banana from the fruit basket on the counter. "Are you going to verbally reply?"

"Not really, mainly because it's a school day," Henry replied.

"Ah, but it's the last day," his father told him with a gleeful expression. "You are finally close to the age of driving."

"Yeah, yeah last day of high school," Henry reminded himself. "Best of all, I end up working on my paper for next year. Besides, I should already have my driver's license." Stoic looked at him blankly, but decided not to press the matter of things, knowing I didn't really like to have conversations with him.

"Well, I am leaving for business for about two weeks," Stoic told Henry, and Henry's eyes lit up in surprise. He was not expecting his father to leave this early in the summer. "Remember, Old Wrinkly lives down the street and-"

"Call Gobber if I need his help with anything, yeah, I got it dad," Henry said quickly, before rushing to the door. "I forgot I needed to meet Fletcher early today." He twisted the door knob open, but felt a very large hand rest on his shoulder before he could get out. _Not this again._

"Son, I know you're avoiding me for some reason," Stoic said solemnly, gazing into Henry's eyes.

"Whaaaaat? No, no everything is fine. I am perfecly fine. I am totally not avoiding for any reason whatsoever" Henry tried to persuade himself, but he let his sadness come through.

"You're thinking about your mother, aren't you."

Henry didn't want to admit it, but he had no other option."Yeah, I saw my book she gave before her research flight disappeared," Henry told Stoic hesitantly. "I was only eight when that happened."

"And I was younger at that time, too. Remember, Henry, she would want you to stay strong, I know it," Stoic reminded Henry, giving his son a soft pat on the back for comfort. It was the same sentence his dad repeated everytime this conversation came up, but Henry couldn't hear it enough.

"Thanks, dad," Henry gave his father a smile, along with a hug, then walked out of the house to get his bike. "See you in two weeks!" Henry ran to the opened garage and grabbed his bike. He didn't bother wearing his helmet: he was already late with his meetup with Fletcher this morning. _Now time to explain,_ Hiccup muttered in his thoughts.

 **(* * *)**

"Hey, Henry!" Fletcher (Fishlegs) Ingerman told his friend, who was getting his combination lock secure on his bike. "Ready to finally be over with this year?"

Hiccup snorted in response. "If only I had your enthusiasm, Fletcher." They walked side by side into Long Island Academy, home of their mascot, the Vikings **(in my defense, it was the most logical choice)**. Opening the front office door, they both went straight to the second floor where their lockers were. The only problem was that Henry's cousin, Stephen, was in the way of their destination. "Oh why can't I ever get a single break from him."

Stephen was Henry's muscular cousin who tried to beat everyone at everything. He was so cocky that he got the name Snotlout from being so caught up into himself. Henry's peers discovered the name after dicussing it in gym class. Stephen would flex down the hallways, and would attracted the attention of most girls. Of course, he was also the captain of the football team at freshman year, which was one of the most impossible things to do.

He also had to a posse: Ruby and Toby, but the students gave them the names Ruffnut and Tuffnut. The two teens were twins, and were also into a whole lot of violence. They would purposely hit each other in every class just to through the day of the "boredom" everyday. The two look so much alike that Henry would have to see which one had the masculine voice, due to their long hair and all. Oh, they also like to blow stuff up for fun. An example would be blowing a giant hole in the field a few months ago, resulting in their suspension.

"Well, what do we have here?" Snotlout asked his two lackeys, who laughed at Henry and Fletcher."Look, it's the wimp Hiccup and his nerdy friend Fishlegs." A few other teens besides the triumphant of annoyers laughed at the two. Like usual, though, Henry ignored his comments that they made to him and his friend.

"I get it!" Toby laughed. "Because he's small, like a Hiccup." He then bent over and continued to laugh his brain out on the two. His sister joined the him, and Stephen continued to laugh in front of them.

"Hey, Stephen," Henry replied gloomily. He didn't even feel like dealing with his egotistical cousin today.

"Is it really a good idea to go that way, Henry?" Fletcher asked his friend, who shook his head.

"You're right. Better not start a fight on the last day of school," Henry said, turning around to go up the fly of stairs on their side. "Especially when my cousin has his head more up his ass today than any other."

"I think Snotlout is trying to cause one, though."

"It doesn't surprise me, to be honest."

The two gave out small laughs to the sentence Henry said as they continued on. Climbing each step one at a time, Henry could feel the small burning sensation in his legs as his muscles ached. It was only twenty seconds to get up the flight of stairs, but Fletcher was breathing heavier than normal.

"Really Fletcher? It was only one flight of stairs," Henry joked, but his friend ignored it. "Alright then, off to our lockers."

Henry opened the door to the third floor, just in time to run into something. Stumbling to the floor and almost down the stairs, he clutched his head and opened his eyes to see who he ran into. As soon as he saw whom he collided skulls with, his stomach dropped like a weight.

It was Astrid, the most athletic, hottest, and popular girl in school. She was so popular that there were a few seniors that asked her to homecoming this year, and she was only a freshman. She had blonde hair and azure eyes, that unfortunately, were closed at the moment. She was holding her head as she groaned in pain.

"Astrid! I am so, so sorry!" Henry apologized, reaching for her to help out, but she hit it away. She growled at him and started collecting the books she dropped. "Are you okay?"

"Stay out of my way, Hiccup," she said in annoyance, giving him a glare before opening the stairwell door and going downstairs to Thor knows where.

"Well that didn't go well," a voice came from behind him. He turned around to see his friend, Heather walking up to him. "It seems like that hurt."

Heather was a girl with raven black hair and bright green eyes. She was slightly older than Hiccup and beautiful at that, but she was more like a sister to him than anything else. She had a kind attitude towards anyone friendly to her, but she despised those with bigheads. An easy example would be Snotlout.

"I-uh appreciate if that was a 'are you okay?' statement, but right now Fletcher and I got a project to prepare for," Henry told her. Henry turned back to Fletcher, who was just staring at Heather in awe. "Fletcher?"

That seemed to snap him out of his view, because he jumped and stumbled back a little before regaining his balance. "Oh! Sorry Henry," he responded with a sheepish smile. Heather seemed to find that amusing, because she giggled at Fletcher's reaction. Fletcher smiled back at her before slightly looking away.

"Well, if you two are done, then I guess we should-" Henry started.

"Wait, Heather," Fletcher blurted. She eyed him with curiousity at the words, looking at the hulking teenager. Fletcher looked at her for a short moment, as if waiting for a response. Soon, she caught on and responded.

"Yes, Fletcher?"

"I was wondering, if you-um, would like to-uh, go out to dinner?" Fletcher suggested to her, looking down as he said that. "We could get to know each other. I was also meaning to ask you for a while."

At first, Heather didn't respond, and Hiccup held his breath. _Please don't humiliate him. Please don't._ Heather was known for humiliating many guys who asked her out. In short notice, it tended to be disastrous when all get turned down. It was a few minutes of silence as Heather thought. The tension around them made Henry want to yell at her to make a decision. Thankfully, she gave Fletcher an answer.

"Well, I-uh, I guess I have time tonight to do it. Sure Fletcher." Henry shook his head, _did she just say yes?_ Henry thought about for a few seconds, but then guessed that their friendship made it likely. When the three of them were hanging out, Henry had sworned when Fletcher would make a joke, she would laugh no matter what. _Never mind._

Henry sighed in relief, and Fletcher brought his fists up to the air. "Yes!" Unfortunately, he dropped his books when he did this. Smiling sheepishly, Fletcher began picking up his book as Heather laughed at the recent, but soon Henry's cousin had to ruin it.

"Why are you taking to Fishface, Heather?" It was Stephen with eyebrows raised at the three of them. "Don't you want to spend some time with someone actually interesting?" Heather rolled her eyes and ignored him. She then turned to Fletcher, giving him one of the books he dropped a few moments ago.

"When will it be?" She asked.

"I'll text you after school. I wasn't sure I was going to be successful, but hey, I took the initiative," Fletcher responded, and Heather nodded, laughing a bit. The raven haired girl then went to the stairwell and made her way downstairs.

"Uh, hello? I'm standing right here?" Stephen spoke to the two friends, who just flat out ignored him. "What's happening?"

"Okay! Not to jump to conclusions," Toby started, "but I think you aren't effecting them anymore. One might wonder why so suddenly. Right sister?"

"Indeed, brother," Ruby responded gleefully, punching his brother in the shoulder, "there are many factors, such as compassion. This could bring an individual from being embarassed all the time to not caring about what others think of him. Maybe the recent event with someone special did this. A lover, perhaps?"

"W-wait," Stephen interjected. "Are you saying that Heather is interested in one of them."

"That's exactly what they're saying, Snotlout," Henry confirmed, and his cousin did the only thing he could do: sneer. "See you next year, cousin!"

 **(* * *)**

Classes were ending, and Henry was never this excited. He finished his exams way before anybody else and began reading the book on Norse language. He then had memories of his mother surface, and he forced back the thoughts; it wouldn't look good if he started crying in the middle of finals.

Henry stopped reading for a moment and put the book on his lap. Reaching for his backpack next to him, the shuffling of his legs caused the book to fall to the ground, and it closed itself. The noise caused a few of his peers to look up from their tests and at him, but Henry ignored their stares.

"For the love of gods," Henry muttered, going to pick up the book, he couldn't help but notice a piece of paper sticking from the inside part of the cover. "What is that?" He grabbed the book and opened it to where the paper was sticking out. _Wait, that isn't paper._

The paper that was hidden in the book had a weirder feel and look than normal. For one, it was yellowish-brown color, and it was thicker than normal paper. _Strange._ He then realized it was paper at all, it was a piece of parchment. Henry's eyes went wide and he muffled a gasp with his cupped hand. Luckily, no one noticed the gesture, and he grabbed the folded piece of parchment from its hiding area.

Henry began to unfold the parchment, and noticed that it was written with a language he had been familiar with all his life. _Norse,_ he thought, and he couldn't help but start to read the words he knew. Unfortunately, Henry wasn't able to translate the whole message, but he knew one thing.

His life changed when he saw the three words that represented the writer's name.

 _Hiccup Haddock III_

 **It's hard to get out chapters when you have tests to study for and things to do. Hopefully this chapter turned out fine, and this marks the beginning of Henry's amazing adventure that will be coming up shortly.**


	3. The Dragon Manual

**Hello, I hope you have a good day today, especially on Valentine's Day. I try to keep these as short as possible now. Forgive my very delayed chapter, life takes unexpected turns. Great, now I am fucking 1 month late.**

"Fletcher, do you realize what we just discovered," Henry exclaimed, combing his shaggy auburn hair away from his eyes. The noise he made caused teenagers around him to give him blank stares. Henry ignored them, too busy marveling at the piece of history he just uncovered. It was also history about himself!

He brought out the book on which he found the letter and opened it. It laid there, unmoving and protected by the solid book cover that covered it. "This man who wrote it, supposedly eight hundred years ago, has the same name which people nicknamed me! He also has the same last name, too! This is unbelievable!"

"Oh my Thor!" Henry heard Stephen's voice ring across the hallway. "Stop infecting us with your nerd overload!" Henry's classmates laughed at that, but continued to walk to their next scheduled class. Henry rolled his eyes at Stephen's comment. _Some people just don't understand._

"Anyways... about this," Fletcher carried on as they walked through the hall. "If you say what's true about this, then you what that means!" Henry nodded in agreement: they were talking about the dragons Henry had read about. Mythical winged reptiles that could easily kill a thousand people without a sweat. Creatures that dominated the sky and sea, terrorizing the animals in the lower part of the food chain. Dragons that his great times fifty grandfather had supposedly trained and lead through the world. "Henry, we could be the first people in the world to discover this!"

"Discover what?" Heather's voice came into the conversation. Wide-eyed and surprised, the two boys hid away the conversation and the paper they had found. "You aren't going anywhere until you tell me."

"Or me," a new voice appeared. Henry looked behind him to see the familiar shape of Derrick, or what people called Dagur in the school. "Hey brother!"

Derrick was known to be a bit crazy. He was always trying to get into any sort of trouble and never backed down to a dare. There were a few times where he went off the walls with the dare, but Henry did not want to relive those memories. He shuddered in horror at them. The redhead was also very muscular. There has been no other sophomore that could lift three hundred pounds. Well, Derrick should have been a junior, but failed the previous year.

"Oh . . . Hey Derrick, how are you doing?" Fletcher asked, receiving a hard slap to back from the older man. The husky boy ended up stumbling into Heather, who caught him in her arms. As soon as they realized what happened, they both quickly scooted away from each other, blushing. Fletcher looked back up (or down) at Derrick. "That was a bit too hard."

Derrick let out was of his maniacal laughs before stopping and gazing at Henry. He shuffled his feet as he stared down at them. "Uh, hey Derrick, you know, we just-yea-just discovered that if you dip a marshmallow in dark chocolate, it tastes just like coffee!"

Derrick quirked an eyebrow at the thin boy. "Really?" Henry nodded, holding his breath. "Wow, that is very . . . interesting! I am going to try that once classes are over." Henry let out a silent sigh in relief, before refocusing his attention to the other two. The final class bell rang, indicated that the classes would start in a minute. "Oh! Come on, we got to get to English for our paper assignment! Let's go brother!" Derrick forcefully wrapped his arm around Henry's neck and led them to the classroom. Heather and Fletcher were following them, chuckling at the sight in front of them.

"Very funny," Henry muttered to them, but they didn't seem to hear it. It wasn't a long walk, but the fact that Derrick continued to talk about Thor knows what was making it long. It seemed like forever before they made it to class, and apparently they were the last ones in the classroom.

It was a very, very big classroom to say the least. Seventy-two kids somehow fit into the room, but it was very cramped. Among these kids were the twins, Stephen, Astrid, Heather, Derrick, Fletcher, and Henry. They all sat in the same area in the middle of the room in a 2x4 seating chart. Henry and Fishlegs in the front, followed Derrick and Heather, then Astrid and Ruby, and last Toby and Snotlout. The bell rang for indication that the class was starting, and Mrs. Wing came in front of the classroom.

"Today is the last day of the school year, and all of you have improved," she stated, the classroom still deadly silent. "However, I hope you can adapt because I am making a change in the groups." Henry went silent, hoping that they weren't going to be doing it alone. "I am now making groups of eight which I have assigned. Starting with Henry and Fletcher, look down the three rows behind you. Those peers are your new assigned group members of your project."

Henry just stared in horrow at the results of it. This was not happening, it shouldn't have been happening. _Oh the Gods hate me,_ he thought as he looked at the reactions of his fellow group. It seemd that none of them liked the result either.

"Are you serious?! I have to work with Useless and Fishlegs!" Snotlout called out in disbelief, earning a glare from the teacher. "I can not work like this!"

"The feeling is mutual Snothat," Derrick rolled his eyes at him and the twins, who were both snickering for no reason. "Is there any way we can trade some group members for, oh I don't know, productive ones!"

"No, Mr. Oswald, you can not. Now, if you all are done complaining, I will explain what will need to be done," Mrs. Wing told the class, and everyone went quiet. "Thank you, now you will write a paper on a story your group has come up with. It can be any genre: fiction, adventure, romance, etc. Your group will have to write a twenty-four page paper: three pages per student minimum."

"Wait! We have to write!" Toby exclaimed, pouting at the instructions.

"While we're still alive!" Ruby said, agreeing with her twin brother.

"Well, it is English class, isn't it?" Mrs. Wing asked, and the twins went silent. "Anyways, this is due the first day back next year. If this is not completed, then your entire group will get a failing grade."

"Wait! You're saying we have to rely on group partners to get a good grade!" Astrid asked, which was more like a snarl. Mrs. Wing nodded to her and Astrid looked at Stephen and the twins. "You better pull your weight, or I will personally end you. All of you."

"Now, discuss with your group and you can begin writing your story," Mrs. Wing announced, and the exam began. Henry sighed as he looked back at his group, which were already argueing about what the genre and story should be about.

"It should be about a colossal monster destroying an entire city. Oh! And a bunch of gory details have to be included," Toby exclaimed to the group, who were all giving him (except Ruby, who thought it was great) concerned looks. "What? Okay! Fine."

"I think it should be about adventure," Heather told the group. "About a group going out and exploring the world." Derrick wrapped his arm around her sister and nodded in agreement.

"I think it's a great idea," he told her sincerely.

"Uh uh," Astrid interrupted, "it should be about Romance and violence. A hero that has to choose between his love or his friends."

"That sounds pretty cool," Stephen says supportive. "Can I be the hero?"

"No, Stephen."

Soon, the conversation turned into a heated debate on which genre the group could do it. Henry sighed as he saw his best friend get into the arguement, explaining the fiction would be the best way to go. It was useless, though, as no one would listen anyone's but their own idea. _This is going to be a long summer,_ Henry thought as he dropped into the arguement and posted his own idea to the group.

 **(* * *)**

"How is this possible?!" Fletcher exclaimed to Henry as the two of them biked down their neighborhood, followed by Dagur on his Moped with Heather riding behind him. "We have to rely on Snotlout and the twins!"

"Apparently so," Henry replied. "You know, things could be worse."

"They are," Derrick stated as a matter of fact. "We spent forty fucking minutes argueing over a genre! We still haven't even decided one yet!" Henry and Fletcher cringed at the sight of him losing his calm spirit.

"Derrick," Heather warned.

"Sorry, anger management is still an issue." The bright redhead looked at the Henry and Fletcher, who were glancing nervously back at him. "I'm seeing a psychologist now. Well, thanks to Heather."

"Anything for my brother," she said sincerely. They both then looked at their house and Derrick slowed his Moped down.

"Anyways, this is our stop," Derrick announced to us. "See you guys at the diner!"

The two Oswalds waved their goodbyes at the two bicyclers as they made a right turn to their house. Henry and Fletcher continued to the Haddock Residence. They were planning to research more about the ancient artifact they found in class. The Haddock boy found it strange that there was another person in his family named so freakishly close to himself.

"I figure we only got a about two to three hours, Fletch," Henry told his friend, who nodded in agreement. They biked faster until they were in the driveway of Stoic the Vast's house. Normally, one would be in awe on how big and elegant it looked, but also intimidating. Not Henry or Fletcher, though; they were normally in this house everyday. Usually it was school based, but very few times it was to play video games or watch T.V.

The two boys took off their biking helmets and laid their bikes out on the front lawn. Walking inside through the front door, they began to lay out the old piece of parchment and the book where Henry found it in.

"Okay, where do we start?" Fletcher asked Henry, who was thinking the same thing as well.

"Um, try looking up the name Hiccup Haddock the III on Google," Henry told the husky boy, and he nodded in agreement. Fletcher pulled his laptop from his backpack and put it on the table. In one swift motion, he flipped the screen up and powered the electronic on. "I'll try to find anything else from the book."

Henry began to cautiously peer in the area where the inside of the book cover had opened. Seeing nothing at first, he began to feel it. Henry didn't want to miss anything, so he slowly pressed down on the outside of the cover, hoping for something out of the ordinary. Feeling the top part first, he felt nothing unusual, but as he went down to the bottom part, he felt it.

Something was there, it was bulky and slightly bulged out of the inner book cover. Henry then inserted his pinky through the small opening of the cover to try and reach it. Unfortunately, it was too far away for him to get a hold on.

"I'll be back, Fletch," Henry told his friend, who nodded as he scrolled up the web page for any clues or information about the name.

The thin boy went through the drawers in the kitchen in hopes for scissors, but he had no luck it doing so. Henry then went to his dad's office. It was only moments before he saw what he needed: scissors. The double-bladed tool was going to help him solve what was hidden within that book cover.

He came back into the room with a wide grin on his face and began to precisely cut. He was eager to see what was inside, but he was also cautious to make sure he didn't ruin it either. It only took half a minute, and Henry was able to grab to what felt like a piece of paper that was folded in a square. He slowly unfolded the paper until it was at its full size, and nothing but excitement and shock filled his eyes. He began, along with Fletcher who was gazing over his shoulder, to read the words that were in English.

 _Dear Henry,_

 _I am sorry, but I had to write this letter. A few years ago, I found something truly remarkable about the history of our ancestors and the world around them. At first, I did not believe it, but soon everything I saw began to change. That's when I realized that the records of the Haddock Heritage were correct. There were dragons, and our family was the first to befriend them._

 _By the time you are reading this, you most likely found the note about your great-grandfather from 990 A.D. You are truly named Hiccup Haddock the III, but not for it meaning runt of the litter. To me, it means that you are smart, you will figure out where the dragons are, and how you will show them the world or not. You will be their cheif, and a chief . . ._

 _"_ Protects his own," Henry (now Hiccup) finished. The young boy softly felt the letter, knowing it was an artifact of his mother. He glanced up at Fletcher, who was still engrossed with the letter, and Henry continued to read.

 _Sadly, the trip I'm about to take will most likely be my last. I know where the dragons lie, but I knew that the people around us were incapable of change and would see them as vicious creatures, only wanting blood._

 _There is something in the attic that can help you, and I'm not sure where I last put it. Remember, only the Haddocks can know that dragons exist, along with the Hofferson, Jorgenson, Thorston, Ingerman, and Oswald clans. These were the only groups to ever trust dragons._

 _Remember, I will always love you and may Odin look over you from now on._

 _Your mother,_

 _Valka Haddock._

Henry took his gaze off the paper and took a deep breath. His own mother verified that dragons exist in the world, and now that he was in charge of protecting them? _I really must be losing my mind,_ Henry thought as Fletcher gasped, indicating he reached the end of the note.

"They exist!?" Fletcher exasperated. " _THEY EXIST!"_ He practically yelled through the house.

"Fletch, the whole neighbor is going to know!" Hiccup reminded him. The husky boy went silent with embarrassment, before his eyes gleamed with excitement and realization.

"Henry, your mother said something that could help us in the attic!" Fletcher told the shaggy, auburn-haired boy before racing up the stairs. "This can help us find the dragons, and where they live!"

"Oh yeah, but what happens to us if we find them," Henry asked his friend, who went silent.

Fletcher then thought about it. "I don't know, but we cross the path we when get there." Henry slumped, sighing to his friend make his way towards the attic door.

The entrance itself was located right in front of the door to Henry's bedroom. The two boys, along with Astrid when they were younger would always explore the upstairs to see if they could anything interesting. Most of the time, they would look for something like a treasure map or a very confusing riddle. The three friends would go on for an hour or two and come down empty handed, but they still kept their spirits high, knowing that they would find something eventually.

As time went on, Astrid left after his dead with in a fire accident. She learned the responsibility most twelve year olds wouldn't take up and started to care for her family. This meant that she didn't have time to be a kid and had to focus school try to make it to college. Henry sighed as he recalled the old days leading up to Astrid's change. He wanted to be like his younger self, care free and full of imagination.

The two boys were able to open the ladder that led them up to the attic. It was dusty (as usual) with brown, wooden furniture and pictures littered the secret room. There were cobwebs of all sizes, but it was surprisingly still big enough for Fletcher and Henry to walk through.

They made their way around the large items until Henry caught something in the corner of his eye. Focusing his sight, he noticed a box that was too ornate to be a casual forgotten piece.

"Over here, Fletch," Henry called to his pal and they both made their way towards the gold trimmed and gem encrusted box. The wood looked withered, but the valuables looked as new as if they were just found. "What does this look like?"

"For starters, it does look like something that you would just throw in an attic," he concluded, and Henry couldn't have agreed more. The two friends pulled the chest out from the middle of the pile and they both looked over it. There faces were filled with awe as Henry's mind was rushing of thoughts.

 _Is this finally the treasure we would talk about when we were younger? Was it going to be a riddle?_ Slowly, Hiccup made sure the chest was open, and fortunately, it was. He then carefully lifted up the lid of the chest, and what he saw was not what he was expecting.

The only thing in there was a leather cover book, but it looked very fragile. Henry cautiously grabbed the book and brought it out of the chest, letting the lid close with a sudden sound. It made the two boys jumped, but they still kept their vision on the book.

Blowing off the dust, Henry saw the Norse Runes engraved in the leather. Slowly, he read them.

"The Dragon Manual," Henry breathed, his eyes going wide as he looked at Fletcher. His eyes were wide as well. "Do you realize what this is?" His friend already knew the answer. "This is a Book of Dragons."

"This changes everything."

 **Well, I personally feel a lot better with taking an entire month off. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and leave a review if you have an idea of what the group will decide on. I will see you guys soon.**

 **My schedule is still unknown, but do not expect these chapters to come out rapidly. I still got a few other stories that I am going to update now.**

 **Zmike**


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